Laura Day (1) (1959–)

At first glance The Circle looks like a practical guide in claiming your hearts desire by following your intuition. The book is divided into two workable halves. The first half quickly leads you through nine chapters (Laura calls them Elements), each a definitive step designed to help realize, then support, your fondest wish while following your intuition.

The second half is a workbook designed to anchor that wish, firmly in your present—until the wish is realized—but you won’t get very far into the book before you realize it’s a whole lot more than a guide.
The Circle is a genuine tried-and-true road map to success using your intuition instead of the force of manipulating your thoughts through manifestation.

The Circle isn’t for everyone; that much is immediately obvious. It’s for those of us who already know something of ourselves. It’s for the kind of people who are entrepreneurs; mothers and artists. Those of us who have already succeeded at something, know the taste, and are able to recognize the formula Laura has created. The Circle is for those of us who want happiness, stability, using tools that consistently effect the changes we want in our lives, while successfully navigating the ones we don’t. All by following your intuition.
This means people with maturity, and let’s face it, chronological age has nothing to do with it. The Circle isn’t about an idea of belief either; because whether or what you “believe” (or not) the steps provided still work; and that’s a little more than most can handle.

So, if you’re skeptical (a.k.a. scared) The Circle isn’t for you; but if you have a flexible intellect, the ability to suspend judgment, and the courage to trust yourself and do the work, you’ll realize you’re already moving toward a better life (by however you define it) very quickly in. That’s been my experience anyway, and just when I was about to give up; on myself and my dreams.
The first chapter, Intentionality, is getting real about what you want. For some, that’s a little harder than it sounds. Sometimes we’re a little buried under our own fictional versions of life, where it’s difficult to differentiate between the fantasy we imagine our life to be, and the reality it is. But don’t worry Laura Day explains exactly what to do.
The second chapter is Embodiment which is about your belief and “deservability” issues. Like, can you even allow what you wish into your life? And once you get that figured, can you imagine it, or better yet feel and experience it, right now, in the present moment? If this sounds like a “soft-skill self-help” book, just ask yourself who else is going to help you achieve the life you need to be happy? Hmm, no one, you say? Only you? Then admit that taking action on your own behalf is no soft-skill, but an essential hard-ass move.
Reading here, on the road to fulfilling my wish, I was asked to feel my body and I think the only things I could feel were the balls of my feet and my elbow joints; so much for wish fulfilment. Would this really work for me? But the keen intelligence this woman writes with is needle-sharp; you needn’t to be intuitive to see that, so I stuck with it, and soon enough I was feeling other things.

The third chapter is Awareness, which is letting that truth you’ve been denying, in. I learned you could be aware of an awful lot without being fully conscious of it. I felt like Shrek with some serious-onion peeling going on. But Laura Day says, “whatever you are aware of, you can change, master, and fully enjoy”. Amen to that.

Each chapter (she calls them Elements instead of chapters), brought me closer in awareness to myself. My real self. How many books can do that? The next was Ritual and it was here that I balked. What was I, some Guru? This wasn’t me. But then I realized I already had rituals (in the form of unconscious habits); things I did daily that weren’t serving me, and decided it couldn’t hurt to do something for myself deliberately, with full awareness and consciousness together.

Laura Day’s definition of a ritual wasn’t like the “soulless reflex” that resembled the useless habits I’d been engaging in so, in I jumped, and finding symbolic representations of my wish was actually fun. Tweaking it now and then, felt very good as well. And, no-word-of-a-lie everyday since then wonderful things have been happening. Now, in The Circle it doesn’t say this will happen right away, but it did for me.

I think for the uninitiated this book might appear as how to manifest your desire. I mean I can see how someone might misunderstand what’s really going on here. But manifesting is using your intellectual constructs (thoughts) to enforce a mental visualization of what you want.

Manifesting is actually engaging in a force against nature. What The Circle is leading you through is the opposite of that. It’s an experience of oneness, where what you need comes to you naturally out of an anchored parallelism; not the skewed results of some fantasy-driven vision-board, and there’s a difference. If you don’t know it for yourself, you’ll just have to take my word for it until you read The Circle and know it for yourself.
Next comes Sacredness which to my mind is sacred craft. Creatively matching what represents your wish by symbolizing what you need to take care of yourself, and your family (at least those were my wishes). I drew one small picture, and used what I already had, and couldn’t stop smiling.

I should stop here and tell you that by chapter two I was already changing. My life started changing. At first, I thought it coincidence, but I don’t believe in coincidences. I began really paying attention then and started documenting everything like some mad scientist (this I could accept about myself!!!) and smiled some more. This is significant because happiness was something I couldn’t relate to anymore. I know that sounds dramatic but it was true nonetheless. Perhaps, you can relate? The point of this chapter was to keep your wish in your consciousness, cueing awareness to expand further.

Synchronicities were happening. I had my “scientific documenting” to prove (to myself), but I didn’t really need it because I noticed every single one and it made me stronger, and happier every single day. My wish was happening every single day. And I couldn’t stop smiling. Did I say that already? The synchronicities were proven effectiveness—whether anyone would believe it or not (including you) didn’t matter. I had become the happy living proof.

Time to make space in my life for more of what my wish is, and less, of what it isn’t. The Circle held me firm while I obliged. Opposing Desires, Transformation and Coherence are more chapters. And then you’re into Outer and Inner Road Blocks (sounds backwards doesn’t it?)

Then, using your intuition for good because as Laura Day says, your intuition is working regardless. You can either use it to improve your life, or allow it to support your weakness; which means, releasing your intuition from aiding you in fooling yourself, and allowing that freed energy to guide you toward unifying solutions instead.
Chapters Healing and Contact are authentic tributes to addressing the very real human issues of the suffering and loneliness we all experience.

The second part of the book, the workbook portion is daily support for each of the chapters (Elements). Do any one element a day, or them all, or out of order. It doesn’t really matter as long as you choose which one supports you best at any given time.

Here’s the thing. It was synchronistic that I found a Laura Day and read one of her books. The Circle wasn’t the first, it only the one that gave me the structure that changed my life. Actually, I’m a diehard fan of, “How to Rule the World From Your Couch” written in 2009. I hadn’t realized that I was one of those people who just dealt with whatever life threw at them, until I read, “How to Rule the World From Your Couch”. Now? I’m working at molding my own life (what a concept for me!). Read the book, do the work, watch your life change immediately. Add in the workbook and the changes keep happening. I’m not kidding. If you have a sense of your own intuition (or would like too) read Laura Day, any one of her books is a game changer and The Circle gives you the steps.… (more)